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Plaza Nueva

A closed neoclassical square of arcades at the edge of the Seven Streets, planned in 1821 and finished in 1851, where the Basque language academy now sits behind the clock and the old town's bars fill the arches.

The Plaza Nueva, its arcades lined with café tables

Photo: Jorgechp, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

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Plaza Nueva

What you are looking at

Casco Viejo · right bank

  1. 1
    The arcadesA continuous run of round arches on every side, sheltering bars, restaurants and shops.
  2. 2
    The clock buildingThe monumental block on one side, once the seat of Biscay's government, now the Basque language academy.
  3. 3
    The five entrancesArched passages into the square from the surrounding streets, each a framed view in.
Book stalls of the Sunday market under the arcades of the Plaza Nueva
Book stalls of the Sunday market under the arcades of the Plaza NuevaZarateman, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
  1. 4
    The Sunday marketA flea market under the arches on Sunday mornings, with old books, coins and stamps.
  2. 5
    The Santo Tomás fairA farmers' market that fills the square every year on the feast of Santo Tomás in December.
  3. 6
    The pintxo barsSome of the oldest and most typical bars in the city, with counters full of pintxos.

Reading the place

The sight in full

Why it matters

The Plaza Nueva, Plaza Barria in Basque, the New Square, is the grand public room of the Casco Viejo. It is a neoclassical reinterpretation of the traditional Spanish plaza mayor: a large, regular, enclosed square with continuous arcades, matching fronts and heights, and arched entrances, the type that developed in Castile in the early modern centuries. One side is taken by a monumental building with a clock.

The arcaded Plaza Nueva, the clock building of the Basque language academy at its center
The arcaded Plaza Nueva, the clock building of the Basque language academy at its centerEkaitz Santazilia, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0

It was called New to set it apart from the Old Square, the town's main square beside the church of San Antón, where the Ribera market now stands. Today the arcades hold bars, restaurants and shops, and the square is one of the busiest meeting places in the old town, especially at the hour of the aperitif.

Sixty-five years to build

The idea of a new square came from the spirit of the Enlightenment in late eighteenth-century Bilbao: to replace the old crowded center with a space that would be functional, comfortable, hygienic and beautiful. A very complex administrative process stretched the project over sixty-five years, in two periods: planning from 1786 to 1829, and building from 1829 to 1851.

That long process left three authors. Silvestre Pérez drew the plans in 1821. Antonio de Echevarría took over direction of the works in 1825 and produced two revised schemes, in 1829 and 1832. Between 1840 and 1851 direction passed to Avelino de Goicoechea, who changed Echevarría's design in turn. The square that opened in 1851 is therefore the work of a generation, though it reads as a single, calm design.

The building with the clock

The clock building on the Plaza Nueva, home of the Basque language academy
The clock building on the Plaza Nueva, home of the Basque language academyJavierme Javier Mediavilla Ezquibela, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.5

The main building on one side of the square, the one with the clock, was the seat of Biscay's provincial government until a new palace was built for it, around 1890 to 1900. Over the years the square's buildings also held hotels and the offices of banks.

Today the clock building is the headquarters of Euskaltzaindia, the Royal Academy of the Basque Language, which regulates Basque and decided which of the city's two Basque names, Bilbao or Bilbo, is the historical one. It is a fitting tenant for the main square of the old town; the Basque page explains the language and the academy's role.

The academy behind the clock

The Plaza Nueva on a wet evening, palms and street lamps in the square
The Plaza Nueva on a wet evening, palms and street lamps in the squareTxussarasola, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Euskaltzaindia, whose name means the group of keepers of the Basque language, was born in the Basque cultural revival of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The first initiative came from the provincial government of Biscay, the other provinces joined in 1918, and the academy was legally constituted in October 1919. A year later it launched its journal, Euskera, which is still published.

The academy conducts research, protects the language and sets the standards of its use, and in the second half of the twentieth century it led the creation of unified written Basque. It has its head office here in Bilbao and offices across the Basque-speaking area on both sides of the border, and its 24 full members meet in plenary session at least once a month. Look up at the clock building and you are looking at the institution that decides how Basque is written.

What you see

Come in through one of the five arched entrances and the square opens all at once, its pale stone fronts and arcades running unbroken round all four sides. The arches give shade and shelter from the rain, which in Bilbao matters, and under them are the counters of the old bars, some among the oldest and most typical in the city.

Stone columns and round arches of the Plaza Nueva's arcades
Stone columns and round arches of the Plaza Nueva's arcadesFred Romero from Paris, France, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

The garden that once filled the middle was lost when an underground car park was built beneath the square in 1966, and a music bandstand was pulled down; today there are a few trees at the corners and an open paved center that suits markets, festivals and concerts. In 2008 and 2009 a glass pavilion in the square hosted the Grand Slam Masters Final, one of the strongest chess tournaments in the world.

Markets and festivals

On Sunday mornings a traditional flea market takes over the arcades and the square, with old books, coins, stamps, birds and flowers for sale. On the feast of Santo Tomás, 21 December, the square becomes a great farmers' market, one of the city's best-loved days, with produce from the farms of Biscay.

The whole length of the Plaza Nueva's arcades in late afternoon sun
The whole length of the Plaza Nueva's arcades in late afternoon sunPA, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

The square is also used for folk dancing, festivals and concerts through the year, and during the summer festival it is one of the centers of the old town's celebrations. The when to come page sets out the festival calendar.

How to visit

There is nothing to pay and no set time: walk through at any hour, and come back in the evening to see the square at its liveliest. The Zazpikaleak/Casco Viejo Metro station has an exit close by, and the Arriaga tram stop is a few minutes away. From the cathedral it is a short walk through the Seven Streets.

For eating, the square's bars are the classic place for a round of pintxos: order at the counter, point to what you want, and pay at the end. The eating and drinking page explains how a pintxo bar works and what the local specialities are.

Honest notes

The Plaza Nueva lit at night, its central building decorated with lights
The Plaza Nueva lit at night, its central building decorated with lightsIgerrak, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

Plaza Nueva is a common name for squares across Spain, and the one in Bilbao is often confused online with others of the same name, including Granada's and Seville's. Look for Plaza Barria or the Basque academy to be sure you are reading about this one. It was declared a historic-artistic monument in 1984.

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